Line Combos: Defense Pairings

[Dr Jan Itor]

Anyone think the reason for shaking up the pairings before the opener was purely Suter-driven? I do.

I think Boudreau has enough equity in the league for that not to be the case.

 

[SomethingGeneric]

Yeah i was just going to say this as well. I think when Yeo was around he definitely deferred to the veterans and on the blue line that was Suter. Don't think that is as much of the case with BB

 

[Digitalbooya]

They've tried it a couple times and it hasn't. Hopefully its just a matter of both players maturing into what they're going to be.

If I remember correctly, Suter and Spurgeon took forever to be good together. Sometimes it just takes consistent playing time with each other.

 

[57special]

Yeah, i don't see BB giving in to Suter.

At least we know that Brodin and Dumba are good buddies, and are probably totally willing to try to make things work as a duo. It's not completely out of the realm of possibility that they will comprise the Wild's #1 pairing in 3-4 years. On paper, they should be a good fit, but I liked Olofsson/Brodin better, with Dumba playing with whomever and getting #1 PP time.

I'll be interested to see how Dumba does this year. I did like how Stevens dealt with Brodin last year. Didn't accept his tendency to be passive, and goaded/encouraged him to do more offensively.

 

[Wabit]

Anyone else think Reilly is getting the 3rd pair start mainly because he's useful on the PP? He had a decent camp, but Olofsson looked better (qualifier of I didn't see all of the preseason games). There is likely to be a lot of penalties the first few games and after Dumba, Spurgeon, and Suter the options are limited for the blueline.

 

[57special]

I like Olofsson, and he might well be the better player, but Reilly had a better preseason. I don't think his abilities on the PP have much to do with anything. Suter, Dumba, and Spurgeon are fine as a basis for the PP. Reilly is just gravy.

I've always thought that Reilly had potential.

 

[TaLoN]

Anyone else think Reilly is getting the 3rd pair start mainly because he's useful on the PP? He had a decent camp, but Olofsson looked better (qualifier of I didn't see all of the preseason games). There is likely to be a lot of penalties the first few games and after Dumba, Spurgeon, and Suter the options are limited for the blueline.

Both Russo and Bruce said Reilly clearly outplayed Olofsson. Considering most of the games weren't televised, I have a hard time thinking anyone here knows better than they do since they actually saw all the games.

 

[Goose312]

I think the first preseason game was the only televised/streamed game Olofsson played, and it was a very rough night for him. Also hard to draw too many conclusions from +/- but he was a -5 or something in the 3 games he played.

 

[Double]

Give me a break. Are we done with this "Suter is running the franchise" conspiracy yet?

Jeez, some of you guys are sure owly.

If you don't think Suter has a propensity to act like a diva, you're being naive. It's interesting that so many are dismissing this, especially in light of the departure of Scott Stevens. Nobody else finds it strange that 20/24 have been paired for most, if not all of camp, Opening Night arrives, then poof! Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes?

 

[Dee Oh Cee]

Nope.

sorry that's not a very nice answer. Nah, I don't know. I don't think it means anything. Camp is a time to experiment and they tried it out. Coaches decided they'd rather try what worked. I think it's as simple as that.

New article by Derek Peterson on the Athletic today about why it was the right call to reunite them.

 

[Double]

Okay, indulge me this: I realize a forward is often used as a power-play point man. Why are righty/lefty shooting combinations important, as it relates to the power play? Just curious if anyone knows.

 

[ThatGuy22]

Jeez, some of you guys are sure owly.

If you don't think Suter has a propensity to act like a diva, you're being naive. It's interesting that so many are dismissing this, especially in light of the departure of Scott Stevens. Nobody else finds it strange that 20/24 have been paired for most, if not all of camp, Opening Night arrives, then poof! Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes?

Not sure what Scott Steven's has to do with anything, are you suggesting that Suter ran him out of town?

As opposed to the much simpler explanation Steven's provided that he didn't want to uproot his three high school aged girls and move them across country and didn't want to be away from them another year?

 

[ThatGuy22]

Okay, indulge me this: I realize a forward is often used as a power-play point man. Why are righty/lefty shooting combinations important, as it relates to the power play? Just curious if anyone knows.

Two reason's
1) It's easier to hold the zone and battle for pucks on your forehand when a puck is contested.
2) When you've got control of the puck and are set up, it's relativevly easy to do a switch and get the RHD on the left side and in position to slide down(or vice versa if your left has the better shot) where he'll have a better angle at a one timer.

 

[Double]

Not sure what Scott Steven's has to do with anything, are you suggesting that Suter ran him out of town?

As opposed to the much simpler explanation Steven's provided that he didn't want to uproot his three high school aged girls and move them across country and didn't want to be away from them another year?

No, not suggesting Suter ran Stevens out at all.

What I'm saying is that Suter has a rep of being a diva. And losing a position coach that is one of the most highly-respected personas in all of hockey could make a diva very easily revert back to selfish behaviors.

The 'alleged' rift in the Wild room as the Yeo era came to an end was essentially boiled down to some young guys vs some old guys. Pretty easy to do the math there.

 

[Double]

Two reason's
1) It's easier to hold the zone and battle for pucks on your forehand when a puck is contested.
2) When you've got control of the puck and are set up, it's relativevly easy to do a switch and get the RHD on the left side and in position to slide down(or vice versa if your left has the better shot) where he'll have a better angle at a one timer.

Kinda figured you'd know.

 

[ThatGuy22]

No, not suggesting Suter ran Stevens out at all.

What I'm saying is that Suter has a rep of being a diva. And losing a position coach that is one of the most highly-respected personas in all of hockey could make a diva very easily revert back to selfish behaviors.

The 'alleged' rift in the Wild room as the Yeo era came to an end was essentially boiled down to some young guys vs some old guys. Pretty easy to do the math there.

Fair enough.

It's not like John Anderson is a never seen the NHL nobody. He played in the league for a decade, has been a head coach at the NHL. And BB has the final say in any matter, with more then enough cred to keep Suter in his place.

Occum's razor. Suter-Spurgeon were one of the two or three best pairings in the NHL last year. Almost every single NHL coach is going to make the decision to keep them together, especially if they didn't like what they saw in the pre-season from the replacement pair.

 

[Double]

Fair enough.

It's not like John Anderson is a never seen the NHL nobody. He played in the league for a decade, has been a head coach at the NHL. And BB has the final say in any matter, with more then enough cred to keep Suter in his place.

Occum's razor. Suter-Spurgeon were one of the two or three best pairings in the NHL last year. Almost every single NHL coach is going to make the decision to keep them together, especially if they didn't like what they saw in the pre-season from the replacement pair.

All of this is pure speculation on my part. The only real way to understand the team dynamic is to see what it's like first-hand. I am a huge believer in team chemistry. I know that's not really very cool in this day & age of fancy stats, charts, & graphs.

Just because it can't be quantified doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

[ThatGuy22]

All of this is pure speculation on my part. The only real way to understand the team dynamic is to see what it's like first-hand. I am a huge believer in team chemistry. I know that's not really very cool in this day & age of fancy stats, charts, & graphs.

Just because it can't be quantified doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

That's fair, and by all accounts Suter-Spurgeon have excellent chemistry.

And really, the only time Suter's mentioned anything about his partner was when Suter-Spurgeon were killing it, and Brodin was switched to be his partner because the 2nd pair was being a bit rough. And his comment was basically strictly talking about handedness and how it makes things easier. So it really doesn't apply to this situation given Dumba is a righty as well.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

Dumba basically had to be a rock star in camp next to Suter to take that spot from Spurgeon, and by all accounts he wasn't, so going back to it to start makes sense.

 

[SomethingGeneric]

Yeah Dumba hurt his ankle in camp probably just didn't blow BB away. I don't see why it's such a big deal we know Dumba, Suter, Spurgeon, and Brodin are the top 4. They are all good players.

 

[Double]

You may be alone on that one.

Not that I'd be adverse to thinking for myself, but according to the Russo podcast that was recorded this morning it appears I am not alone in this line of thinking.

 

[Digitalbooya]

Not that I'd be adverse to thinking for myself, but according to the Russo podcast that was recorded this morning it appears I am not alone in this line of thinking.

Russo says a lot of things on his podcast.

 

[Double]

Russo says a lot of things on his podcast.

Strange, someone would actually say things on a podcast. Weird.

 

[2Pair]

Dumba basically had to be a rock star in camp next to Suter to take that spot from Spurgeon, and by all accounts he wasn't, so going back to it to start makes sense.

I think it had more to do with Spurgeon/Brodin being terrible together in the preseason. No reason to make the top pair weaker if it isn't going to improve the 2nd pair either.

 

[nickschultzfan]

Our blueline is going to be a problem. Suter continues to ask to be paired with Spurgeon, even though that is not the best interest of the team. Second pairing is going to be shaky as a result. Third pairing is still a big question mark.